Haunting Melody
by Rhea Chryseis
Summary: Music boxes, threats, a new mysterious crime organization, and a face from the past... what in Hyne's name has Quistis gotten herself into? ((rating may change))
1. Explosive Announcement

  
  
A/N: Well, this is my first FF8 fic, so if the characters seem a little ooc, just let me know. Any useful criticism would be greatly appreciated. That's how you get better at things anyways, right? Of course. Btw, incase you're wondering, I'm writing this as I go along. I pretty much know what I want to happen and how it'll turn out, I just don't have the patience to write it all out at once. ^_^"

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Italics indicate thoughts.   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Final Fantasy VIII. The lucky people at Squaresoft do. :/ 

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Haunting Melody

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Chapter 1: Explosive Announcement

A long banner hung across the ballroom doorway with "Balamb Garden's SeeD Induction Ball" written on it in elegant letters. Quistis unconsciously smoothed out her SeeD uniform as she looked the banner over. She hadn't wanted to come; there were still too many essays that still needed grading. But because of her position as an instructor, she felt obligated to appear and at least congratulate her old students. 

Quistis had regained her instructor's license shortly after the defeat of Ultimecia. It was the least Garden could do for her after what she and the others had done for the world. The others had received rewards too. Irvine and Rinoa were inducted as SeeDs into Balamb. Selphie was now the head of all festivals and other Garden events. Zell was guaranteed free hot dogs in the cafeteria. Squall hadn't asked for a reward. In fact, he was the one that had requested the rewards for his friends for sticking with him and Garden through all that mess. That all happened a little over three years ago. Sighing lightly, Quistis headed through the entrance.

The ballroom itself was a spectacle. Rich emerald green ivy circled the columns. Flowers streamed over the balcony railings. A small orchestra played on a stage that was set up on one end of the large room. Tables were set up on the other side, most of which were occupied by those SeeDs who weren't exactly the most graceful on the dance floor. 

Selphie ran up to Quistis hugging her, "Hi Quisty!"

"Hey Selphie," She replied, returning the shorter woman's hug.

"So what do you think?" She raised her hands in the air, motioning to the decorations.

"It's beautiful, you've really outdone yourself," she said with a smile.

Selphie beamed. "Aw thanks! I still think it would be a whole lot better if they would've allowed us to wear formal dresses and stuff instead of these uniforms."

"Oh well, you know the administrators." Quistis shrugged

Selphie's attention was quickly diverted to the refreshment table. "Irvine Kinneas! Zell Dincht! If you two come any closer to that ice sculpture I swear not even Dr. Kadowaki will be able to help when I'm done with you!" Quistis looked over her shoulder at the two men. They were quickly moving away from the icy angel pursued by Selphie. "You don't know how long I spent trying to find someone who could make that!" Quistis laughed softly, shaking her head. 

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Those two should know better after what happened last year. Zell was lucky Selphie hadn't cut off his supply of hot dogs after that incident, she thought, recalling how Irvine and Zell had accidentally broken several of the tables and a bass guitar at last year's SeeD festival. They had attempted to crowd surf after they finished playing the last song. They had bruises for weeks from both the fall and Selphie's Strange Vision. Selphie's temperament about such things surprised Quistis. Usually Selphie had a reckless, "Let's blow it up!" attitude, but when it came to her decorations, she was aggressively protective.

A calm waltz was playing. Quistis saw Matron and Headmaster Cid dancing. The couple seemed so happy these days. _Speaking of couples, where's Squall and Rinoa? I'm surprised she doesn't have him out there dancing with her right now._ She looked around, but found no sign of them, only Irvine and Zell hiding behind a column in the back. They quickly told Quistis not to give away their location. Apparently they _had_ touched the ice statue. One of the wings was broken off and Selphie was ready to raise hell.

She finally caught sight of Rinoa and Squall when the waltz ended. She watched as Rinoa dragged her reluctant boyfriend to the stage. Rinoa grabbed the microphone smiling. "Hey everyone," she waved to the crowd, "We have an announcement!" Squall attempted to pull the mic away from her, whispering something incomprehensible to her. She firmly shook her head and took it back, the smile reappearing on her face, "Squall and I are getting married next summer!" she said ecstatically. _Married?!? Did she just say married?_ Quistis' heart dropped. The SeeDs around her cheered and clapped. She placed a hand on an nearby vacant table to keep her balance. 

"Oh Quisty isn't this wonderful! A wedding!" Selphie yelled as she ran past and up to the stage. In her happiness for her friends, it seemed Selphie had forgotten all about the ice angel. Quistis managed a weak smile. 

When she was sure no one was looking, Quistis quickly left the ballroom. She walked through the empty hallways down to her dorm room, sliding her keycard through the lock. She shut the door quietly and slumped down against it. 

Marriage. She knew she should be happy for them. After all, they were her friends. But there was a part of her that was still in love with Squall, no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise. But Rinoa was the one that broke through Squall's cold outer shell, something Quistis had tried to do but failed. She should've known her chances were gone long ago, after the "talk to a wall" incident. However, for some reason she still held on that a small glimmer of hope. That glimmer was now snubbed out, no longer shining for her. 

Quistis shook her head. She would never be able to go to sleep with so much on her mind. She changed out of her uniform and into clothes more suited for training: a white tee shirt and gray shorts. Grabbing her Save the Queen and slipping her keycard into her pocket, she headed out to the Training Area.

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Humidity weighed down on her as she made her way through the foliage. With a crack of her whip, she took care of several Grats who blocked her path. She stopped next to the small stream that ran through the area to take a breather. The marriage was still weighing on her mind, but she didn't feel nearly as upset as she was a half-hour ago. 

Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out through the air coming from the other end of the Training Area. It was followed seconds later by a second blast. She furrowed her brows in worry and curiosity, hurrying towards where the sounds had come from. 

Large flames crackled around the entrance to the Secret Area and there were pieces of metal strewn across the ground. Several students were lying on the ground injured. "Blizzaga!" she yelled. The strong spell snuffed out the fire. She ran into the Secret Area. More students were injured in there, and even more fires were burning. After putting those out, she surveyed the situation. There were at least 15 students down here. There was one girl huddled in the corner. She seemed to be the one who received the least damage. She had her forehead on her knees and her hands over her face. 

Quistis knelt down next to the girl. "Are you okay?"

The girl looked up. "Instructor Trepe! It was horrible!" she sobbed. Quistis recognized her as one of the older students she taught named Kaira. "We were all just… talking. And then all of a sudden everyone got really quite. And then..." she flung her arms around Quistis, sobbing.

"Hey, it's okay," Quistis said calmly, "I need you to do something for me." Kaira sat up and looked at her instructor with watery eyes. "I need you to go get Dr. Kadowaki. Tell her what's happened and to hurry down here. After you do that, go find Headmaster Cid. He should still be up in the ballroom. Tell him what's happened too." 

Kaira, although still shaken, nodded and rushed out. 

Quistis stood, placing a hand on her hip. _What in Hyne's name happened? _She panned the small balcony once more when something caught her eye on the ground. It looked like a small music box. She picked it up and placed it in her pocket, deciding to show the Headmaster after they had the dealt with all the students who were hurt. 

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It was around 3 when Quistis made it back to her room. She had spent it helping the injured to the infirmary. A few of the students had only been knocked out for a short while. However, others weren't so lucky. Two were in critical condition while another still wasn't conscious. After all the injured were moved, Dr. Kadowaki told Quistis to go to get some rest. "There's not much you can do to help now, dear," she had said.

She flicked on the lights and kicked off her shoes. _What a night… so much for distracting myself by training. _

A small object fell onto the ground by her foot. She looked down. It was the music box she had picked up earlier. She sat down on her bed and opened it slowly. A soft, lamenting tune clinked out as music box's small mechanisms turned. _How strange._ She closed it and placed it on her nightstand for tomorrow, or rather later that day since it was past midnight. Cid had asked her to meet him in his office at 10 to discuss what happened. She decided she would show it to him then. She had a nagging feeling that it was linked to what had happened. _People just don't leave music boxes lying around for no good reason…_

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	2. Assignment

A/N: Wee! Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Eheh…^_^; ignore me. Anyways, here's chapter two. Sorry if this one chapter moves a bit slow. And it's a little short. I'll try to make the next one longer.  
  
Disclaimer: No, sad to say, I don't own any of these characters. I'm just borrowing their little universe for my story.

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Chapter 2: Assignment

Quistis woke up fairly early the next morning. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and debating whether or not to fall back asleep. She didn't have anything planned for today besides the meeting with Headmaster Cid. The day after the Induction Ball was always a free day for both instructors and students. 

After several minutes of deliberation, she decided it would be best to get up. She took a shower and got dressed. By the time she had finished getting ready, there was only a half-hour till her meeting. _Might as well head up now._ She picked up the music box and headed out into the hallway, locking the door behind her. 

The halls were almost completely empty. Most students and SeeDs went to the nearby town of Balamb on days off, or spent them training in the Alcaud Plains. Those that had stayed at the Garden were either eating breakfast in the cafeteria or enjoying the autumn weather in the quad. She pressed the button for the elevator and waited for it to descend. _I guess the students haven't found out anything about last night yet. Well that's just as well. Who knows what kind of rumors would be spreading? And the Trepies… _,she shook her head,_ they wouldn't give me a moment of peace if they knew. 'Oh Instructor Trepe, are you okay? Are you sure you're okay?'_ Quistis shook her head. She had to admit, it was flattering being admired, but sometimes they just didn't know when to leave her alone.

The elevator announced its arrival with a ding. Quistis stepped in and pressed the third floor button, inserting her keycard to gain access to the floor. 

At the third floor, she stepped out into the Headmaster's lobby. Xu smiled at her from behind her desk. "Hello Quistis, you're early as usual."

Quistis gave her colleague a small smile, "Is the headmaster ready to see me?"

Xu nodded and motioned for her to go on in. Quistis pushed opened one of the doors and walked in. 

"Quistis! Glad to see you," Cid greeted. 

"Good morning, sir." She resisted the urge to salute and sat down in one of the chairs positioned in front of his desk. Cid always lectured her about saluting to him, 'You're like a daughter to me Quistis, you don't need to be so formal…' She still got away with calling him sir however. That was one habit she'd never be able to get rid of.

"I'm glad that you were in the Training Area last night. We probably wouldn't have found out what happened otherwise till this morning or later, which might've been too late for some of those students. You handled the situation very well."

"Thank you sir. If you don't mind me asking, do you know what exactly happened?" 

Cid stood up and started pacing, a habit he had when he was concerned or concentrating really hard on something. "Well, as you probably figured, two bombs were set off near the 'Secret' Area. From what we've learned from witnesses, they heard what they thought was music from a music box playing right before the bombs went off. We have an idea of who could've done it but…" Cid trailed off into thought.

"I guess that would sort of explain this then," Quistis said, placing the music box on the desk. Cid picked it up and opened it, listening to the music thoughtfully. 

"Hmm. Yes," he closed it. "Just as I thought."

"Excuse me sir?"

"During the last field exam, one of the SeeDs that accompanied the students reported hearing a music box before a small grenade went off near Squad A. At the time, we figured it was the enemy. After last night, I had a feeling the two incidents were connected, but now this confirms it. Several groups, mainly independent organizations from Galbadia but the Esthar police force contacted us also, have been asking for help in investigating the threats they've been receiving. It's amazing how many requests we've been getting on it. They all mentioned music boxes in their letters. I think that whoever is sending these threats was trying to scare us off of accepting the deals with those bombs. 

"Students have been hurt, and the other administrators including myself have decided it'd be best for us to find out who's behind all this. I'm going assign this investigation to you, Quistis. You'll have access to all Garden transportation and train passes."

"Yes sir, is this going to be a solo mission or will I be working with someone?"

"You'll have two other team members, Irvine Kinneas and Zell Dincht."

Quistis nodded, "Have they been briefed on the mission yet?"

The Headmaster shook his head, "No, they're both in the infirmary, getting treated for a black eye or something along those lines." 

Quistis bit her lip to keep from laughing. _I guess Selphie remembered the ice angel._ "Well if that's all Headmaster, I'm going to head down to the library for some research."

Cid nodded with a smile. "I'll send Irvine and Zell down after I've informed them on the situation." 

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Quistis sat at one of the computers in the library, clacking away on the keyboard. She was surprised at how much information she had found on crimes similar to this and others linked to them. Most were bombings, but there were several murders and accounts of arson too; all with a music box found at the scene of the crime. There was one that particularly caught her eye. It had happened several weeks ago in Esthar. An entire office building had gone up in flames. There were many casualties and one woman found outside the building still hadn't regained consciousness. It didn't seem like there was a motive behind this attack. There were rumors flying around that the building actually belonged to the organization responsible for the crimes.

"Quistis!"

She turned around, "Oh hey guys." She let out a small laugh when she saw her teammates. Zell's head was bandaged up and she could see the end of a strip of gauze hanging out from Irvine's sleeve. 

Zell went crimson, "Hey, it wasn't exactly our fault! The wing just kind of…fell off while we were near it."

"Sure it did. I bet Selphie believed that too," Quistis replied, arching a brow.

Irvine scratched the back of his head, "Uh… well… no, she didn't. Sefie sure is a fast runner, isn't she?"

"Where'd she find you two?" 

"In the hallway outside the ballroom. We tried sneaking out while she was recruiting people to help with the Garden Festival but she saw us," Irvine explained.

"Well anyways, I'm glad you guys finished up in the Headmaster's office so quickly. I assume Cid told you about everything."

"Yeah, strange huh?" Irvine replied pulled up a chair. 

"Very," Quistis agreed. 

Zell read the article on the computer screen from over Quistis's shoulder. "Why would they set their own base on fire?"

She shrugged, "That's what I'm wondering."

"Maybe they pissed off someone?" Irvine guessed. 

"Who knows." Zell replied, rubbing his head where the bandaging was.

"I think we should head to Esthar first," Quistis announced. "I'm sure the police will have a file on whoever these people are, and we can probably find out some info from the locals too."

"Alright! I'm flying! I never get to fly," Zell said jumping up from his seat.

"Flying? Who said anything about flying?" Quistis looked quizzically at him

"We're taking the Ragnarok, aren't we?"

Quistis shook her head, "No, I already checked to see if it was in. Rinoa and Squall are using it to take Matron back to the orphanage. We'll be going by train."

"Aw man, the trains are so boring though!"

Irvine cracked his neck and stood up. "Well, lets go pack and get going then! I haven't been to Esthar in ages."

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	3. Gunblade

  
Disclaimer: FF8…nope, not mine.

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Chapter 3: Gunblade

"Come back soon!" the store clerk called over the door chimes. Quistis walked out of the store and onto one of the main streets in Balamb. They had needed to buy several items before their departure to Esthar. Quistis had volunteered to get them while Irvine and Zell loaded the luggage onto the train. Well okay, it was also an excuse for her to get a soda.

"Oh come on!" she heard someone yell as she neared the train station. _Oh no, sounds like Zell._ She saw him arguing with the ticket collector, waving his hand around in the air.

"Is something wrong Zell?" she asked.

"This damn guy isn't letting me through. I left my SeeD id in my bag and now he won't let me on the train. Says if I don't have proper identity, I'll hafta buy a ticket like everyone else. Have you seen that line? The train'll be gone by the time I even get near the front!" And Irvine already got on the train so its not like he can back me up. Tch!" 

SeeDs didn't have to bother with buying tickets when on a mission anymore. The charge for their tickets was transferred over to Garden. So there had been a lot of people posing as SeeDs to get free rides and now SeeDs were required to show their id before boarding the train to avoid any fakes from taking advantage of Garden. 

"No id, no ride," the ticket taker stated firmly.

Quistis shook her head, "He is a SeeD of Balamb Garden, as am I." She pulled out her SeeD id. The ticket collector narrowed his eyes, looking the id over. He very reluctantly moved aside, obviously angry he was proven wrong. 

Zell grinned, "Ha!"

"Zell just get on the train," Quistis sighed.

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The rest of the train ride was uneventful. It pretty much consisted of a lot of magazine reading and random comments from Zell about how he showed "that damn ticket taker". 

When they arrived in Esthar, they were greeted by a computer generated welcome-voice. Ignoring its enthusiastic comments on how they should check out the wonderful gifts in the Esthar train station gift shop, they headed for the car rental booth. A navy blue car soon rolled up after they paid and entered their rental number in the keypad. "So to the police station?" Irvine asked, getting in the passenger seat. Zell had already claimed the driver's seat, leaving Quistis with the back seat.

"Yeah, we can check in at the hotel after that," she replied.

Zell started the engine up and turned onto the road. He switched the radio on to a local rock station. Irvine reached over and moved the dial to a blues station. Zell shot Irvine an annoyed look and turned it back. Rock, blues, rock, blues, rock, blues, rock…

"Zell watch out!" Quistis yelled harshly from the back seat. During the argument, Zell had moved into the wrong lane.

He looked up and quickly swerved back into their lane, narrowly avoiding a collision with another car. "I swear you two are about as mature as the junior classmen. Just turn the radio off. Zell, pay attention to the road and Irvine, stop annoying him." 

Irvine laughed, turning it off, "Sorry Quisty, I just couldn't resist."

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Soon afterwards, they arrived at the police station. Quistis, with Zell and Irvine in tail, walked up to the woman sitting behind the front desk. "Hello, can I help you?" the woman asked with a polite smile. 

"Hi, we're from Balamb Garden. Is the Chief in?"

"Yes," the secretary replied. She clacked away at her keyboard. Quistis waited for her to say something else. 

"…Can we speak with him?"

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No."

The secretary looked down a list on the monitor of another computer next to her. "Well, lucky for you guys, he's free right now. You should make an appointment in the future however." Zell rolled his eyes, receiving a jab in the side from Quistis's elbow. The secretary pressed a small button. "Sir? Three SeeDs are here to see you."

"Okay, send them up," a voice replied from a speaker. 

" You can take the lift to the left," the secretary instructed. 

"Okay thank you very much," Quistis replied with a slight nod.

The three sat down on the elevator and Quistis pressed the appropriate button. The lift levitated for a second before zooming down a translucent tube. "Hyne," Irvine said, gripping the edge of the seat. "I'll never get used to these things." 

The lift jerked to a stop and they stepped off into the police chief's office. A man with clean cut chestnut hair walked over to meet them. "Good morning, I'm Chief Landers," he shook each of their hands. "Please, have a seat."

They sat down and he returned to his leather chair situated behind a large oak desk. "So, have you come in response to our request?"

Quistis shook her head, "No, our Garden was attacked recently and we believe it was by the same organization you've been having trouble with." 

"They sent us to investigate the group," Irvine added.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that they've targeted SeeD too."

"Any information you could give us would be greatly appreciated," Quistis said.

"Well, we don't have many useful leads at the moment. We think they might be based somewhere on this continent, but we can't say that for certain. We do know their headquarters in Esthar City was destroyed a few weeks ago, most likely by a rogue member. But you guys probably know that too from newspaper reports. We also know that they refer to themselves as Delirium or "D" for short. If you like, I could show you the evidence we've found. I'm not sure if it'll be any help, but it's worth a try, eh?" 

"That'd be great," Quistis replied.

Chief Landers took them to another lift that brought them to the evidence floor. He led them down a long hallway, past various rooms and filing cabinets. He pulled out a key card and slid it through the lock of one of the rooms. The door lifted, revealing a medium-sized room. There were weapons and documents lining several tables. On another table, there was a little over thirty music boxes, all seemingly identical in appearance. "These are all the items we've found that have connections to D," Landers explained.

Zell walked over to the music box table, "Geez, all of these were found at crime scenes?"

"Yes, one at each crime. Those are the only way we've traced some of these crimes to them. They each play a different tune too." 

Irvine whistled in amazement. 

The secretary's voice sounded over an intercom, "Chief Landers, your noon appointment is here." 

"Alright Patrice, tell them I'll be right there," he replied facing the speaker on the wall. He turned back to the SeeDs. "I'll be in my office if you have any questions. We have already gathered all the information we could find on all of these items, so feel free to look through them. You can take them out too, but if you do, be sure you sign them out on the board over there so we know that they weren't stolen." The team members expressed their gratitude and he walked briskly out the door.

"Well he was nice," Zell commented

"Yeah you wouldn't think they'd be so free with this information," Irvine replied.

Quistis shrugged, looking over a table littered with weapons and pieces of metal, "Esthar has been on good terms with Balamb Garden ever since we helped out with Lunatic Pandora. And President Laguna _is_ Squall's dad after all."

"Psh, not that Squall cares," Zell muttered. Squall had been very distance with Laguna ever since he found out he was his father. He wasn't sure how to act around him or what to say even. 

A large case at the end of the weapons table caught Quistis' eye. She lifted the latches on it and pulled the lid up to see what was in it. Her eyes widened significantly when she saw what was in it.

"What's wro-" Zell started, walking over to her. "Oh no way! No freaking way!" 

A black steel gunblade laid in the case. Irvine walked over to his two friends to see what the commotion was about, "Hey isn't that-"

"Hyperion. Seifer's gunblade," Quistis interrupted. She glanced at a small tag attached to the case. "They found it at the site of D's old Headquarters."

"Do you think Seifer's involved in this?" Irvine asked.

"That bastard, it'd be just like him to join a group like that." Zell's hands balled into fists at the mention of the ex-Sorceress Knight's name.

Quistis shrugged, picking up the gunblade. "I don't know." The metal of it was icy cold under her touch and the weapon was much more heavy compared to her lightweight Save the Queen. She had to use both hands to make sure she didn't drop it. 

It took years to learn how to use a gunblade properly. Seifer and Squall had been Garden's most promising gunblade students. Quistis remembered how Seifer used to swing it around with ease, using only one hand, and all the times she had been caught on the wrong end of the powerful weapon. She shook her head and placed it back in the case. "He hasn't been seen in a while."

"Yeah, not since the trial right?" Irvine asked. Quistis nodded. After Ultimecia was defeated, Seifer had been tried for war crimes. Edea had done all she could, however, to get the charges dropped. She had been convinced that Seifer had been controlled just like she had, even though most people felt differently. After that, Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin had pretty much avoided Garden and SeeDs. Fujin and Raijin had set up their own fishing business in Fisherman's Horizon, but there had been no word of what Seifer was up to lately.

"I guess we've found the first item we'll be adding to that board," Quistis mumbled.

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They finished up in the evidence room late in the afternoon, gathering the things they decided to take with them. Besides Hyperion, they were taking a rather thick stack of papers and two music boxes. Quistis jotted the items down on the board the Chief had told them about, and they left the station. 

Irvine put the items in the trunk of the car before getting into the back seat. Quistis had decided that she wasn't going to risk another radio accident so she was driving.

They headed to their hotel and checked in. They had reserved two rooms right next to each other: one for Quistis and another for Zell and Irvine. Quistis dragged her things into her room. The group had decided that all the evidence they borrowed would stay in her room, since she'd be the only one in there and there would be more space. Quistis also felt that it had more of a chance of being returned to the station in good condition if it was kept away from her two rambunctious teammates. After setting her suitcase on the ground, she sat down on one of the beds and picked up the phone. 

Selphie's voice sounded on the other line, "Hello?"

"Hey Selphie, it's Quistis."

"Oh hey! I heard about the mission, how's it going?"

"So-so. That's what I was calling about actually.

"Really?"

"Yeah, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure Quisty, anything."

"I need you to call Fujin and Raijin and ask them if they've talked to Seifer lately,"

"What? Why?" Selphie sounded confused. Quistis explained how they found Hyperion in the evidence room. "Ooh okay. I get it. I won't be able to call till tomorrow morning though. Rinoa, Squall, and I are heading over to Balamb for dinner to celebrate their engagement."

"Thanks Selphie, have fun!" Quistis gave her the hotel room phone number before hanging up. _Ugh…I almost forgot about the engagement._

There was a knock on her door. "Come in," she called. Irvine opened the door and poked his head in.

"Wanna come get a bite to eat with Zell and me? We're just heading down the hotel restaurant so don't worry about getting dressed up."

Quistis thought for a moment before getting up, "Alright, sounds good to me." _It'll be better than moping around my room all night that's for sure._

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	4. Passing Notes

A/N: I changed the name of the crime organization to Disturbance, still known as D for short. Just a spur of the moment decision. And thanks guys for the reviews, they're a real motivation. ^_^

Disclaimer: Square owns ff8 and its characters. I don't. Simple enough to understand.

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Chapter 4: Passing Notes

The hotel restaurant was a pretty casual place. There were a few people eating, but for the most part it was empty. Quistis, Zell, and Irvine were seated at a small square table with a chair at each of the four sides. 

"This is nice," Quistis commented.

"Yeah, like I said, its nothing fancy, but I've heard the food's good," Irvine replied.

"Do they have hot dogs?" Zell asked eagerly.

"How should I know? This the first time I've eaten here," Irvine replied, "Look at the menu and see." He tossed one of the menus over to him.

"I called Selphie a little while ago, she's going to try to get in contact with Raijin and Fujin for us," Quistis said, glancing over her menu.

"Do you think they'll know anything?" Zell asked as he scanned the menu for his favorite meal.

"It's always worth a try. If he isn't involved, they'll tell us. If he is, then…well," Quistis shrugged.

"Did Selphie say anything else?" Irvine asked. He leaned back to move out of the way of a waiter, who was in the process of filling their glasses with ice water.

Quistis raised a brow, "No, not really. She's going out to dinner with Squall and Rinoa but that's about it. Why?"

"Dunno… just wondering," The menu suddenly became immensely interesting to the gunslinger. His eyes were locked on the laminated sheet, avoiding Quistis' questioning gaze. 

Quistis smiled. She prided herself on figuring out people and the way their minds work. Irvine's mind was pretty easy, compared to Squall, but not as easy as Zell who basically wore his thoughts and emotions on his sleeve. You could almost always tell what Zell was feeling or thinking about.

"Ah HA, there's the hot dogs!" Zell said suddenly, pointing to a lower part on the menu.

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Point made, Quistis thought.

The waiter came and took their orders. Quistis decided to have the shrimp scampi, Irvine ordered a steak, and Zell ordered several hot dogs. "So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Zell asked, handing his menu to the waiter. 

"Why don't we look around the city? There's bound to be someone who knows something. That okay with you guys?" Irvine suggested.

Quistis nodded, "Its fine with me." 

"Ditto," Zell replied.

"If we head out around 8 tomorrow morning, we should be able to cover a large portion of the city," she figured, taking a sip of water.

"Alright, so we'll meet in the lobby at 8 then," Irvine replied.

"Woo yeah! These guys are fast!" Zell grinned as the waiter brought out their food.

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Quistis jerked awake to the sound of the phone ringing. She sat up and looked at the clock. _9:15?!? Oh Hyne!_ She shook her head and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hi Quisty!" Selphie replied merrily from the other end. "You okay? You don't sound so good."

"I'm fine, just a little drowsy. Did you talk to Fujin and Raijin?"

"Nope. I couldn't get in touch with them. It's really strange. I called several times, but nobody picked up. No answering machine either."

"Hmm, well thanks anyways."

"No problem. I'll see you when you get back!"

"Bye Selphie." She placed the receiver back down.

Quistis' attention shifted to a piece of paper lying on the ground near the door. She got up from her bed and picked it up.

__

Quistis-

Hey, we figured you either got a head start or you're still sleeping so we decided to go on our own. We'll be back later. Don't get into too much trouble without us!

-Irvine & Zell

"Ugh great." She put the note on her dresser and got dressed. 

__

Better look for a place to start… She picked up one of the packets of papers they borrowed from the police. There had to be something in there she could use. She sat on her bed and turned the television on, placing the papers next to her. On the screen, a weather reporter was giving the weekly forecast. Quistis thumbed through the pages until she found a page that looked promising. _Eyewitness Reports…Bingo._

"Our top story this morning is from the Esthar police force," an anchorwoman said from behind her news desk, "There was a break in at the central station around 11 last night."

Quistis looked up from the paper. This was certainly unexpected. The central station had one of the best security systems in the world, next to the Esthar Presidential Palace. She remembered seeing cameras and id scanners everywhere in the halls when they were there the day before.

"The culprit or culprits got into the evidence floor and messed things up pretty badly. Gonna take forever to get everything back in order," an officer explained as the camera panned one of the evidence rooms. Drawers were sticking out all over the place. Doors to cabinets were thrown open. Tables were turned over and paper littered the floor. _That was the room we were in yesterday._ She stared intently at the screen.

The screen switched back to the anchorwoman, "Police have no leads yet as to whom could've done this. Security cameras in the room and surrounding halls didn't pick up anything on the person/persons." They played a short clip of the security video. In the room, things were falling over and cabinets were opening, but there wasn't any sign of anyone being in the room. 

"In other news-" Quistis shut the television off.

__

How weird. I need to tell Zell and Irvine about this tonight.

She looked back at the paper lying in her lap. Among the names on the list, four of them were listed as eyewitnesses for the explosion that took out D's headquarters. Quistis reached for a notepad from her nightstand and a pen and scribbled the names and addresses down.. She put the address paper into her pocket and, after making sure she had her whip, headed out to find a lead.

________________

Quistis knocked hesitantly on the door of the fourth person on her list. Her luck hadn't been very good today. The first witness wasn't home, the second refused to talk to her, and all the third person saw was the fire. He had apparently just gotten there a minute or so before the police had. A small red-haired woman in her late twenties opened the door to the apartment, "Yes?"

"Miss Stantle?"

The woman nodded, "How can I help you?"

Quistis smiled politely, "My name is Quistis Trepe, I'm from Balamb Garden SeeD. If you don't mind, could I ask you a few questions on the explosion you saw a couple weeks ago?"

Miss Stantle examined Quistis' face for a second before stepping to the side, "Come on in."

Quistis stepped into the apartment. It was small, but had a homey atmosphere. Miss Stantle offered her a seat and a cup of coffee in the kitchenette.

"That would be wonderful, thanks."

She placed a mug on the table in front of Quistis and sat down across from her. "So what do you need to know?"

"Well, could you tell me what you saw happen?"

"Well, my boyfriend, Nathan, and I were walking back to his place after dinner, it's several blocks down from the building that exploded you see. When we got near the building, we heard a loud blast and saw fire shoot out from the windows. He ran to a pay phone and called the police and I hurried over to see what had happened."

"Did you see anyone come out of the building?"

She nodded, "A lot of people actually, around nine."

"Can you describe any of them?"

"Well I can't remember much about the others, but one man sticks out in my memory. He was really muscular and had dark hair and a dark complexion. Talked weird too. He was yelling something like, 'Hurry up. They'll be coming down any second now, ya know!' and then he ran back into the building."

Quistis tilted her head, _She has to be talking about Raijin. I wonder if he's involved with whatever Seifer was doing. _"Miss Stantle, did you happen to see a tall man with blonde hair come out of the building?"

"Blonde hair?"

"Yes, and a scar across the bridge of his nose."

She shook her head, "No, I can't remember anyone like that who was there."

"Well, thank you very much for the coffee and for your help, I should get going," Quistis stood up and placed her coffee cup in the sink.

"No problem, you're a lot more polite than those reporters that were hanging around a week or so ago. Come back if you have any more questions."

Quistis nodded and said goodbye to the woman. She walked out of the apartment building and onto a small street. It was almost 6 and getting dark quickly, so Quistis took one of the lifts that ran through the city back to the hotel. 

When she arrived, she went to Zell and Irvine's room first. She knocked on their door, but there was no reply. Quistis figured that they were still looking for leads, or the more likely assumption, they were lost. She shrugged and went to her own room. 

Quistis tossed her whip on the bed where the evidence was piled and picked up the phone. After dealing with an incompetent person from the front desk, she finally got through to room service.

"Hi, yes, I'd like a salad and iced tea please."

"Okay, we're very busy tonight however so it'll be around an hour."

Quistis rolled her eyes. How long would it take to make a salad? "Okay, thanks." She hung up the phone.

________________

There was a knock on her hotel room door an hour and a half later. "Room Service," the person called. Quistis hurried to the door. _Finally._

She opened the door and took the tray from the man standing outside, placing it on the dresser. "Just a moment," she said while she looked for her purse. The food was late but she would feel guilty if she didn't tip the guy. She gave him some gil and closed the door. 

She brought her food over to a small table where the rest of the police reports were piled. Before her food came, she had been looking through them, writing down anything she felt was useful on a notepad. She glanced over the red-inked notes. _I can see why they're having so much trouble with this case. These reports aren't exactly detail-oriented. _

She popped the lid off the container her salad was in, quickly closing it back up in disgust. The lettuce was brown and the dressing smelt horrible. _Ugh, they must really be having an off-day, the food last night was so much more appetizing. _She pushed the tray away from her. 

-click- A loud car dealership commercial suddenly blared from the television. Quistis jumped. The sudden break in the silence of the room had surprised her. She grabbed the remote from the bed behind her, turning it off. _Weird._ She returned her attention to the police report she was reading. 

A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened before quickly slamming shut again. The same thing happened soon after with the closet door. Several music boxes tumbled to the ground, causing one of them to open. She got up from her chair and picked the music boxes up, shutting the one that was playing. _What's going on?_

She gasped as she turned back to her table. The notepad she had been writing on was at the opposite end of the table, near where her disgusting salad rested. The pen was moving on its own, writing something on the paper below where she had written her notes. 

Quistis sat down at the table and pulled the notepad towards. 'Where is it?' was written in thin, rushed letters. The handwriting was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She bit her lower lip nervously. There was someone somewhere in there with her.

"Who are you?" Quistis asked quietly, looking around the room.

The notepad slid back across the table. The pen wrote another message on it before it was shoved back towards her. 'Guess.'

"No, I'm not in the mood to guess. Tell me who you are and what you want," she said, desperately trying to keep her voice from wavering. She was a high ranking SeeD, she should be able to deal with this. _But Garden never taught us how to locate an invisible foe,_ Quistis thought. She glanced out of the corner of her eye, trying to find the location her Save the Queen just in case her 'visitor' was hostile.

The notepad floated over to the other side of the table, almost like someone was carrying it. It was placed on the tabletop with a thwap. The pen quickly scribbled something on the paper before the sheet was torn off and tossed at Quistis. She caught it and looked where the pen had been writing. 'Need a hint?' Below the writing, the pen had sketched a crude drawing of a _very_ familiar red cross.

________________


	5. The Knight

Disclaimer: The characters and places belong to Square. Yeeeep.

________________

Chapter 5: The Knight

Quistis picked up the paper from the table, bringing the cross sketch close to her face. She quickly put it back down and stood up, her eyes still locked on the drawing. _It can't be him. No, it's just impossible._ "Seifer?" she asked hesitantly, desperately hoping no one would reply.

"Boo," a voice behind her breathed. 

She whirled around, fear gripping her mind. There standing less than a yard away from her was the infamous Seifer Almasy, decked out in his trench coat and smirking. "I didn't think you'd be one to get scared easily, Instructor."

"How did you get in here?" she asked, her nervousness edging into her voice more than she would've liked.

"Room service."

"That doesn't exactly answer my question."

"Deal with it."

"Why are you here?" she asked bitterly, slowly regaining her composure.

"I thought instructors were usually glad to see their former students, to catch up on old times and all that other crap," he replied with a mocking warmth in his voice.

__

He hasn't changed a bit. She could see her Save the Queen from the corner of her eye. It had gotten knocked onto the floor between the beds when the music boxes fell. "Not when that student has tried to kill the instructor and almost destroyed the school," she snapped.

"I'm hurt," he replied, holding a hand to his chest in mock pain.

"Let me repeat myself, why are you here?"

"You have something of mine," he responded, taking a step towards her.

"What are you talking about?" Quistis replied as calmly as she could, although she knew _exactly _what he was referring to. She slowly inched her way around the edge of the bed.

"Hyperion. You have it. I want it back. Need me to make it any more simple for you?" He tilted his head slightly.

"Why do you think I have it?" _Just a few more feet…_ She thanked Hyne that she had hidden the gunblade in between the mattresses of the extra bed earlier. She hadn't wanted housekeeping to mess with the weapon while she was out.

Seifer pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. It was the sheet they had signed yesterday at the police station, naming everything they took, "Because of this, that's _your_ signature right there, isn't it? I doubt there's more than one person from Garden named Quistis Trepe," he sneered. 

__

He was the one who broke into the station, she realized. Quistis started to bend down to pick up her whip when suddenly, Seifer grabbed her wrists. He forcefully pulled her up, away from the weapon. "Don't test my patience, Instructor," he growled, his emerald eyes glinting dangerously. 

There was a loud knock on the door, diverting both of their attentions. "Hey Quisty? You awake?" Zell called from the other side. Quistis used the distraction to pull out of Seifer's grip. She jumped over her bed and hurried to the door. The ex-Knight cursed under his breath.

"Come on in Zell," she said, opening the door.

"Hmph, Chicken wuss hasn't changed a bit," Seifer mumbled as Zell stuck his head in the doorway.

Zell looked curiously at Quistis and then around the room, "Yo, are you okay?"

She quickly looked between Zell and Seifer. Zell didn't seem to know that Seifer was in the room.

"Quisty, seriously, is something wrong?"

Quistis turned back to her friend, "I'm fine."

"Well I just wanted to let you know we're back. We didn't find much out. Did you?"

"Yeah a couple things, I'll come over there in a minute and fill you guys in on everything."

"Alrighty." Zell shut the door behind him as he left.

"Why couldn't he-" Quistis started to say as she turned around, but Seifer was gone. There was a new note written below the cross. 'I'll be back for it.'

Quistis turned the note over and slid it under the police reports. She was ashamed that he had frightened her, but then again, Seifer was an intimidating person. After all, he was a little over a half a foot taller than she was and by far much stronger physically. She shook her head and headed over to her teammates' room.

________________

"...And that's about all we found," Irvine finished up. He and Zell had basically wandered around the city all day. There were a couple of people who had heard of D but none knew anything else besides the fact that 'they weren't a group you'd want to mess with'. "What about you, Quistis?"

"Well, Selphie called back. She couldn't get in touch with Raijin and Fujin. There was also a break in at the police station late last night."

"Yeah I saw that in the paper," Zell replied grinning. He was quite proud of the fact that he had actually bothered to read the newspaper that morning.

"I checked out a couple of eye witnesses. Only one of them had something useful to say though. She saw Raijin walk out of D's HQ that night it was bombed."

"So Raijin has something to do with this too," Zell concluded.

"Obviously. And Fujin was probably involved too," Irvine said. 

"Anything else happen?" Zell asked.

Quistis wondered if she should tell them about Seifer. _They'll think you've gone insane. Wait until you have some solid proof,_ she told herself. "Nope, that's it."

"Oh by the way, we picked this up when we were in the Shopping District," Zell tossed the latest Weapons Monthly over, the December issue. "The new weapon upgrades are awesome."

Quistis smiled, catching the magazine, "Thanks guys. I'm going to go get some sleep. See you in the morning,"

"Night Quisty!" both of her friends called. 

________________

Quistis made sure the door was locked when she got back to her room. She also checked to make sure her windows were shut and locked. She felt overly paranoid, but she didn't want to risk another run in with Seifer that night.

Tossing the new magazine on her nightstand, she headed into the bathroom, shutting the door and turning on the shower. She hadn't had a chance to bathe today and she felt quite grimy. 

Stepping into the shower, she reflected on the day's events. Two days in Esthar and things had already gotten much more complicated than she was expecting. 

__

Seifer, how could he have gotten into my room without me noticing? _Or the police station too for that matter. And why couldn't Zell see him? It's not like he blends in with the room. I should have told Zell and Irvine. But no, I didn't. And who knows when he'll come back? Maybe he won't. What am I thinking? I still have Hyperion. Of _course_, he'll be back. He won't let something like that go so easily. He always was a stubborn person. Stubborn, violent, and pretty unpredictable…_

Her hand moved to her other wrist, massaging it. It was sore from where he had grabbed her. Memories flashed in her mind, of the Sorceress Parade and Lunatic Pandora. She saw him dragging an unwilling Rinoa up to Adel, yelling something to Squall and pushing her to the ground. The look in his eyes was frightening. Panic, regret, rage, and arrogance all mixed together. Adel reaching out to grab Rinoa, Squall yelling her name. Seifer laughing from the side.

Quistis shook her head, willing the images away, and turned off the water. She wrapped a towel around herself and tried to rationalize the situation the best she could, _He had been under Ultimecia's control then, right? Like Matron said, he didn't have complete control over his actions. She said he wasn't a danger anymore. But then again, why is he involved with D? I hope Matron is right._

________________


End file.
